Jaded

JADEDJustin Wright Suspense Series Book 2 Rob Kaufman Jaded Copyright © 2023 by Rob Kaufman All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the authors, except in brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Printed in the United States of America. To all those readers who send me emails, respond to my online posts and leave reviews —both positive and negative — you keep me typing through good times and bad. Thank you for reading my books. A quick shout out to my editor, Therese Arkenberg, who always helps bring my words to life. TABLE OF CONTENTS PROLOGUE CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 10 CHAPTER 11 CHAPTER 12 CHAPTER 13 CHAPTER 14 CHAPTER 15 CHAPTER 16 CHAPTER 17 CHAPTER 18 CHAPTER 19 CHAPTER 20 CHAPTER 21 CHAPTER 22 “AVENGED” PROLOGUE PROLOGUE The room was pitch black. So black the boy’s eyes hurt as he tried to focus them. It was impossible to see anything — not even his own hands when he held them up to his face. Was he in an actual room? Maybe he was in a basement, a cave, or maybe he was in a motionless vehicle. Wherever he was, there was a hard floor beneath him and no sound but his beating heart and the stuttered gasps of his breath. The air was stagnant, as if it had no ventilation. And it stank, an odor reminding him of the day he found a decomposing field mouse in his bedroom wall. It had somehow made its way in but apparently couldn’t get out, and for two weeks, his bedroom reeked of a rotting rodent. He'd had to sleep in his brother’s room until the stench had faded. He slowly stretched his arms out into the darkness in front of him. Nothing. He moved them to his sides. Still nothing. Then he circled them behind him. Emptiness, nothing but space. With the darkness and silence filling every one of his senses, he hesitated to move from where he stood. If he tripped, fell and hurt himself in some way, he’d be in a shitload of trouble. What if he broke a bone or sliced his leg on a sharp object? Unable to see anything, he might not even know he cut himself and could bleed out before he realized it.Crawl! he thought. Crawl along the floor on your hands and knees — head down to protect your face. One hand, one knee in front of the other until you reach a wall, an object or find some kind of light. As the boy got on all fours, the air around him started to stir. Like a slippery, shapeless creature, the coal-blackness felt as though it had its own spirit that gently glided up and down his body. It found its way into his ears, nose, eye sockets and every other orifice and pore. To his surprise, the slithering energy spread warmth throughout his body and provided some unexpected comfort. Not knowing what it was or its ultimate goal, he surrendered and let it do with him whatever it wanted. Once the presence flooded his entire self, he lifted from his crawling position into a squat, sitting on the back of his calves, back straight as a board. As his eyes looked dead ahead, a shadow appeared out of the black, its color the slightest shade lighter than the darkness surrounding it. At first he couldn’t tell what it was. Without shape or form, it moved closer — and then he became able to distinguish the outline of a person. The energy that had invaded him helped to keep him calm as the man approached. Far in the distance behind the man, the boy saw a white spot of light. Then the man held out his hand, and the feeling of calm turned to hopelessness. He realized the only way to make it to the light was to take the hand and let the man lead him.And so he did. Each step stirred a churning in his stomach; soon he'd be out of this darkness, soon he'd be somewhere else. As the spot of light grew larger, the boy saw movement in it. He stared through the opening, unable to figure out if what he was seeing were people, animals or possibly trees swaying in the wind. But for certain, this new world had light, more than the darkness fading behind him. Still holding hands, he and the man reached the opening. There the boy had to use his free hand to shield his eyes from the brightness. The movement he had seen was from children, at least a dozen of them, ranging in age from six to sixteen. They were running around a yard, some kicking soccer balls, some jumping rope, while others had climbed on playsets with slides, rock walls and swings that seemed to reach the sky.Their screams of excitement and laughter made him smile. Although most of the children looked familiar, he drew a blank when trying to remember their names or where he might’ve seen them before. Wanting to join in on the fun, he tried to run toward the playset, but the man beside him squeezed his hand, and he couldn't move. He looked up, and chills ran up his back. It was him.The screams of delight from the other children turned to horror-filled shrieks. Some of them ran under the playset house. Others hid behind the trees. There was no way out of the yard, no